Hutchinson Community College Runners Sweep NJCAA National Weekly Honors

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson Community College cross country runners Mildred Rono and Cornelius Kogo were named NJCAA Division I National Runners of the Week on Wednesday after dominant performances at the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic.

Rono, a freshman from Iten, Kenya, obliterated the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic record book, smashing the Fun Valley course record with a three-mile time of 16:55.33, breaking the old record by 39.12 seconds. She became the first runner in event history to break 17 minutes.

Rono's winning margin of 55.30 seconds also set a meet record. She helped the No. 15-ranked Blue Dragon women's team to a runner-up finish at the meet, which was held Friday night at Fun Valley.

Kogo, a sophomore from Eldoret, Kenya, won the men's race with a time of 20:04.10, the 13th-fastest time in Masterson Twilight history. He led the No. 4-ranked Blue Dragon men to a 1-2-3-4 finish as Hutchinson captured the team title for the second time in meet history.

Rono is the first Blue Dragon women's runner to earn national honors since Faith Jepchirchir received NJCAA weekly awards last year. Kogo is the first Blue Dragon men's runner since Teagan Flanagan on Oct. 6, 2020, to be named national runner of the week.

The Blue Dragon cross country program continues to build on its strong tradition under the coaching staff. Blue Dragon Sports can be contacted at 620-665-3530 or through their website at bluedragonsports.com.